In the present family ownership since 19251907 Stanley Model EXChassis no. 3595

Rarely does a Stanley in this condition, and with provenance so extensively-documented, show up on the open market, the car having been owned by the present family for 87 years.

Its tale begins in 1907 when Ed Hunter bought the car through George Grappotte's dealership in Watertown, NY. Hunter sold it August 10, 1924, to Fred "Pickle" Jackson of Dexter, NY, making it the first car in that small rural town. The EX was well worn by that time, so Jackson was contemplating turning it into a sleigh because of the nice carriage work. The current owner's father, happened to be there and persuaded Jackson to sell it to him instead. He was in Dexter visiting his mother, so he persuaded her to let him leave the car in her barn. It stayed there through the Depression, World War II, and after, until 1953 when the owner's father ran into Ed Beagle at a car show in Connecticut and commented "Boy, would I like to have a car like that to work on!"

Granting him his wish, he replied that he had just such a car and that if Beagle, who lived in Bennington, Vermont, would pick it up from his mother in New York State, he could do just that. So off the Stanley went to Vermont. Beagle repaired it and had it running in fairly good order. Just two years later, in 1955, Stanley Ellis featured Beagle and the then 8-year old current owner in his seminal Smogless Days: Adventures in Ten Stanley Steamers. Ellis's book influenced the preservation of Stanleys by popularizing, even facilitating, steam car collecting. Beagle kept the Stanley until 1972 when he turned 100.

At that point, the car was moved from Vermont to the owner's home in Chatham, NY. Looking for advice on running the car, he contacted Carl Amsley, a well known Stanley dealer and restorer, and others, including Susan Davis of the then new Stanley Museum. Was it ready to drive? Did anything need to be done to it? Foster settled into simply firing it up occasionally, with no extensive driving.

On his father's death in 1992, it passed to the current owner who was living in Utah at the time. Initially the car remained in Chatham, NY, and he tried to have Carl Amsley work on it; but he proved to be too busy, so he moved the EX out west to Utah.

About that time, Lorin Tryon and Jules Heumann had conspired with Susan Davis and the Stanley Museum to put together a Stanley Class for the 1997 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Thanks to urging by Stanley Museum member and Tryon and Heumann's "Candy Store" buddy, Jim Crank, the timing coincided with the centennial of the Stanley steam car, so with help from Brent Campbell and other experts in the hobby, we put together a class of 12 Stanleys along with four White steam cars, four Dobles, and the coal-fired 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos. The plan was to assemble the most representative and original steam cars in the country that properly told the story of the Stanley Steamer. By adding Whites, Dobles and the rare De Dion Bouton, we expanded the class to speak of steam cars in general. The Pebble Beach team felt that this 1907 EX met the requirements of originality and provenance for the Stanley's longest-running ten horse-power production model, built from 1906-1908.

At the same time, the owner had decided to put his car through a major restoration, which was completed in 1996. In doing so, he researched the best Stanley experts in restoration out west to do the work. Stu Laidlaw's SOB Inc.; Alan Blazick's Bill Harris and Lane Goulding; Loren Burch and Arno Stites did the work, helped with advice from east coast experts, including the late Louie Biondi, Brent Campbell, Charlie Johnson and others. As with truly original Stanleys, the serial number 3595 was found on the body, in this case branded into the right side of the cowling. The wood was encapsulated with marine epoxy to seal it and prevent it from expanding and cracking the paint.

Once the restoration was completed, it was entered into the 1996 Silverado Concours in Napa, CA, where it placed second. The next year at Pebble Beach its third place in the Stanley Class was especially significant, coming as it did in a class with the country's top Stanleys. After Pebble Beach the EX returned to Ogden, Utah, where it was driven and shown. For the last few years it has been a main attraction in the Browning Car Museum at Union Station in Ogden.

With the car come original photo prints used in Stanley Ellis's Smogless Days book as well as photos when the owner's father bought the car in New York in 1924, and other newspaper articles and written documentation. A picture of George Grappotte's dealership where the car was first sold is also included, along with the original 1924 check for its purchase.

This Stanley will be a great addition to any collection that includes the Brass Era. For those who may wish also to drive it, he or she will enjoy one of the Stanley's most exciting power-to-weight ratios.

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